On This Date in Minnesota History: December 1

December 1, 1942 - Char-Gale, a sheet metal and furnace company based in Minneapolis, opened a plant in St. Cloud one week before Pearl Harbor and eight short days before the United States entered WWII. “The company originally hired men but as the need to fill jobs increased they were forced to seek help from across state lines, and even hire women. Prospective employees were paid 50 cents an hour for training classes which they took at St. Cloud Technical High School. During the war the company was contracted to build airplane fuselages for the C-46 aircraft. During its peak the company employed about 1,400 men and women.”
http://wjon.com/char-gale-plant-opened-on-this-date-in-central-minnesota-history/

http://wjon.com/char-gale-plant-opened-on-this-date-in-central-minnesota-history/